Spatchcocked Chicken With Tomatoes, Grapes And Basil: Learn To Cook With Aditya Bal

The technique of splitting, then flattening a chicken yields a perfect roasted chicken – and we bet this is the tastiest bird dish you’ll ever binge on.

Serves 2

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Ingredients

• 3½ roasted chicken with skin (spatchcocked – with backbone removed)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 fresh red chilly
• Handful of basil leaves with stems chopped fine
• 3 tomatoes, chopped
• 12 grape tomatoes
• Handful of black grapes
• Salt and pepper
• 1 lime
• ¼ glass red wine
• ½ tbsp sugar
• 8 to 10 almonds

The recipe

Step 01: Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and rub into the skin well. Season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy pan, sear the chicken skin side down till nice and golden, then turn over and sear till golden on the other side.

Step 02: Add the garlic, chopped chilly and basil stems and fry around till fragrant and soft, then add the chopped tomatoes, sugar, lime juice and fry everything together on a high heat for a few minutes.

Step 03: Add the wine to de-glaze the pan, scraping up those flavour packed pan deposits. Cover the pan, turn down the heat and cook for 45 to 50 minutes or until the juices run clear and the chicken is cooked perfectly.

Step 04: Uncover the pan, add the grape tomatoes, grapes and almonds to the pan and cook till they begin to break down. Add a splash of water if the sauce looks too thick. Season everything once more, chuck in the basil leaves and a squeeze of lime, reduce the sauce till concentrated and syrupy.

Step 05: Place the chicken on a platter with the sauce plated below it, or over it if you like and tuck in!

Pair it with

Though traditionally the dish is cooked and served with veggies, you can try and serve it with a mango feta lettuce salad. Also, a bottle of red Syrah (Shiraz).

From the October 2014 issue of FHM India.